Bethany England credits Tottenham move for her World-Cup selection
Bethany England has credited Tottenham Women with the chance to "go out and be happy again" and for giving her the platform to make the Lionesses Women's World Cup squad.
England made the switch from Chelsea to Tottenham in January and hasn't looked back since. The £250,000 transfer fee represented a domestic record for a women's player in the English game. The pressure on her shoulders was enormous.
However, under that pressure, she thrived. A goal on her Spurs debut followed by another against her former employers in her second game demonstrated her determination, and that form would continue until her season ended with a brace against West Ham on the final day of the WSL season.
She registered 12 goals in her first 12 Spurs appearances - a hugely impressive return. The mental strength she showed by leaving behind a side where she wasn't getting minutes, to lift a team battling relegation and book her spot on the plane to Australia and New Zealand was the stuff of fairy-tale.
A part of the Lionesses' iconic Euro-winning side last summer, England left Sarina Wiegman little choice but to recall her to a squad that is now set to battle for success on the greatest stage.
“The situation I was in, I wasn’t being used, I was on the bench, and as Sarina rightly said, I wasn’t getting picked (for the national team) because I wasn’t getting the minutes,” England told The Guardian (21 June).
“It was up to me to make sure I was not only getting the minutes but making the minutes count and I did that at Spurs. I can’t thank them enough for giving me the chance to go out and be happy again.”
The Tottenham striker will face stiff competition for a place in the starting line-up with WSL Player of the Season Rachel Daly, Lauren James and Alessia Russo all competing for a spot.
“There’s an exceptional amount of competition in the striking force, as well as the whole squad really, and we’re all very excited to get out there and show the world what we can do,” England said.
In the end, England's form could not be ignored and if her fighting spirit has shown anything, don't count the Spurs star out of making that starting XI come 22 July when the Lionesses kick their tournament off against Haiti.